"Old" Hours

[Elvis21]

I am 22 and wish to pursue a career as a pilot. Due to the current conditions I realise that sponsorship is a distant dream so I am going to go the long way round and start with the PPL.

In '97 I completed 20 hrs as part of an RAF scholarship and I was wondering if these (or part) of will still count or if they are now obselete.

Also, anyone know any good flying schools around London/ South East?

All help gratefully received.

[BroomstickPilot]

Elvis 21

What matters is whether you have a full PPL or not. It doesn't even need to be current.

I was able to qualify to attend an ATPL ground school course when my hours were much older than yours and my PPL not valid for a good many years.

Incidentally, there was nothing wrong with Titanic: she was a splendid vessel and in fact more seaworthy than the Andrea Doria which was built in the fifties. Titanic was sunk by poor seamanship and the Doria had a fight with the liner Stockholm, (which just happened to have ice breaker's bows).

[Elvis21]

I have not got the PPL yet, I am going to start in the summer. Will the hours I have already done be deducted from the 45 i.e leaving me only 25 hours left to fly before I get the PPL?

[FNG]

You will be able to count hours logged previously towards the minimum requirement, but you should expect to take a few (or more than a few) hours more than the 45 in total, partly because almost everyone does, and partly because you will naturally have to revise much of what you learned before, as flying skills diminish if not used.

For advice on schools near London, search or scroll down a few pages, as the subject has been covered in threads from earlier this year.

[FlyingForFun]

Elvis,

I think you're correct, you will only "need" 25 more hours before you reach the minimum for the PPL. As for how long it will actually take - I'd be quite surprised if your previous experience will reduce the time it would take to get the PPL. After a 5 year break, I suspect that although you'll remember much of the theory, many of the instincts that a 20-hour pilot has built up will have departed you.

On the bright side, though, I don't think people like insurance companies look into how recently you've logged your time, as long as you're reasonably current. So you should be able to get a PPL about 45 hours from now, with a total time of 65 hours. That means that you'll only need another 35 hours before insurance companies and the like will insure you as a 100-hour pilot and give you much lower rates than a 50-hour new PPL!

FFF
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